CBP at Hidalgo International Bridge Seizes Heroin Worth $781K

HIDALGO, Texas—U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Office of Field Operations (OFO) at the Hidalgo International Bridge arrested a 42-year-old woman from Rio Bravo, Tamaulipas, Mexico after discovering $781,000 worth of heroin in the vehicle she was driving.

“This was an excellent interception of hard narcotics that our frontline officers accomplished a few days ago,” said Port Director Sylvia Briones, Port of Hidalgo/Pharr/Anzalduas. “Our officers’ ability to detect anomalies and discrepancies with travelers or vehicles is what raises suspicion and subsequently leads to discovering contraband.”

A CBP officer working at the Hidalgo-Reynosa International Bridge on April 18, referred a woman driving a white 2003 Ford F-150 pickup for further examination. A thorough secondary inspection of the pickup, which included the utilization of non-intrusive imaging technology (NII), yielded positive results with the discovery of 16 packages of alleged heroin weighing 34.44 pounds (15.62 kg).

CBP OFO seized the heroin, the vehicle and arrested the woman who was ultimately turned over to Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) agents’ custody for further investigation.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection is the unified border agency within the Department of Homeland Security charged with the management, control and protection of our nation's borders at and between official ports of entry. CBP is charged with securing the borders of the United States while enforcing hundreds of laws and facilitating lawful trade and travel.